Festivals & Events
Festivals & Events
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Festival Cinematography Notes – At Berlin, Back to Black
Back in February, I had the privilege of giving two workshops, “Intro to Large-sensor Digital Cinema Cameras” and “Large-sensor Digital Cinema Cameras in Detail” at the 11th edition of the Berlinale Talent Campus. For those not acquainted with this Berlin Film Festival initiative: the Talent Campus each year invites 300 directors, producers, editors, and cinematographers – “talented emerging filmmakers in the first years of their career” – each with a film or two under their belts. Most seem to be in their late 20s. This year over 4,400 applied from 137 countries. Clearly a hot ticket. The 300 lucky ones […]
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Rear-Ended: New Directors/New Films
If brave new fiction dominated the first week of New Directors/New Films, a cluster of divergent docs owns the second. Some of the docmakers aim for the intimate and personal (Stories We Tell, Anton’s Right Here); others, the extroverted and novel (Our Nixon, People’s Park). For the most part, grasp equals reach. The directors merge form and content in ways appropriate for both subject and audience. The one standout feature fits nicely with the docs. The Interval is a study in doc-like realism, and Italian director Leonardo Di Costanzo is a veteran of documentaries. The film has a light poetic feel as well — […]
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Second Sun Valley Fest Wraps a Strong Edition
A place of unbelievable beauty that maintains a rustic, unassuming vibe, Sun Valley, Idaho, has long been a hideaway for the rich and famous, from the Shah of Iran to generations megawatt movie stars. Arnold Schwartznegger and Clint Eastwood have homes there; Bruce Willis and Demi Moore apparently split much of the surrounding area in their divorce. First brought to attention by Ernest Hemingway — who lauded it as prime fall hunting lands in the 30s, long frequenting the place with his buddy Gary Cooper and finishing his legendary For Whom the Bell Tolls in a second story suite in its signature […]
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Top Riders: New Directors/New Films
It’s my favorite time of the New York movie year: the New Directors/New Films festival (March 20-31), now in its 42nd edition. A New Directors film may be artful, heady, provocative, or innovative — or all four. Not always super polished — that’s traditionally more up the New York Film Festival’s alley — it should indicate promise. To that end, this crop pretty much delivers. A number of selections favor a bit of fakery in lieu of naturalism in order to get at some sense of truth. Just as you can make a case for the greater honesty of Méliès’s magic films […]
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Cinekink 2013: Reflections from Founder Lisa Vandever
When we set off on our first year of CineKink, little did I think we’d one day be celebrating a “decade of decadence.” And yet, here we are, resting up from another festival down, happy in the knowledge that this amazing milestone also brought record crowds, increased press attention and another round of great works. Among the year’s highlights, our opening night film, Remedy, from New York-based writer/director Cheyenne Picardo, delivered a packed house and a chance for the local kink community to see some of their own represented up on the big screen. Based on her personal experience in […]
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Celebrating the Obsolete: Films on Film at SXSW
It’s no secret that the independent film industry has been irrevocably altered by the modern financing and distribution landscapes. With new technologies rendering traditional media — both film itself and releasing platforms — obsolete, filmmakers have managed to weave the presence of such nostalgias and tropes into their work. In Josh Johnson’s Rewind This!, which had its world premiere at SXSW, the effects of the home video revolution are dissected by collectors, fanatics, programmers, and critics alike. Andrew Bujalski’s Computer Chess, which screened at SXSW following its world premiere at Sundance, is a comedic period piece in which programmers and […]
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Destin Cretton’s Short Term 12, Ben Nabors’ William and the Windmill and the Full List of SXSW 2013 Winners
As screenings continue and the music folks roll into town, SXSW last night announced the winners of its 2013 Film Festival. At the Paramount Theater, Destin Cretton’s crowd-pleasing Short Term 12 and Ben Nabors’ African-set, sustainable energy doc William and the Windmill took the top juried prizes. Audience prizes will be announced at the festival’s conclusion. A complete list of winners follows: Feature Film Jury Awards DOCUMENTARY FEATURE COMPETITION Grand Jury Winner: William and the Windmill Director: Ben Nabors Special Jury Recognition for Cinematography: Touba Director of Photography: Scott Duncan Special Jury Recognition for Directing: We Always Lie To Strangers […]
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Critic’s Notebook: The 2013 SXSW Film Festival
Every festival has its bright spots, especially important ones like the SXSW Film Conference & Festival, but this year they were perhaps harder to find than in years past. I would have stuck around to see the lovely Destin Daniel Cretton and his indie tearjerker Short Term 12 accept the top prize for narrative (or Ben Nabor take the doc prize for his look at a Malawian windmill architect, William and the Windmill), but the weirdly tone-deaf, sycophantic awards ceremony — during which festival honcho Louis Black railed about how he “didn’t care about money” at this for-profit festival and the all-white […]
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Five Questions with Maladies Director Carter
Having established himself as a painter, photographer, and sculptor, Carter continues to expand his art repertoire with his newest feature film, Maladies. After working with James Franco on his directorial debut, Erased James Franco, Carter decided to write another film with Franco in mind. Maladies follows the relationship of a former actor who befriends a family of artists. All equally eccentric, their interactions explore the struggle artists often have with creativity. The movie also stars Catherine Keener, David Strathairn, and Fallon Goodson, who also acted as a producer. Maladies premiered at the Berlin Film Festival in February and makes its North American debut […]
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Ginger & Rosa Director Sally Potter on Taking Chances
Sally Potter spoke to a sold-out, mostly female audience on a springlike afternoon in Toronto. She was the latest world-renowned director to sit in the interview at the TIFF Bell Lightbox, and she discussed with journalist Johanna Schneller her experiences and views on filmmaking while clips of her films burst on the screen including her latest, Ginger & Rosa. The session started with a moment from her little-seen 1979 short, Thriller. It’s an experimental short consisting of grainy black-and-white photos married to the opera La Boheme and Bernard Hermann’s theme from Psycho. “The decisions I made were about trying to bring […]
